


she says i smell like safety and home

by catalinazjm



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: F/F, Fem!Harry, Fem!Louis, Fluff, Genderswap, basically just louis and harry getting to know each other and cuddling and kissing and being cute, because i like girls and i like larry so why not, fem!larry, girl au, this is gonna be extremely cheesy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-12-04
Updated: 2015-12-04
Packaged: 2018-05-04 23:03:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,549
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5351666
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/catalinazjm/pseuds/catalinazjm
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Harry is forced to leave her house due to her homophobic parents, she decides to run as far away from them as possible. That's how she ends up in a train to another town at midnight, uncertain of everything in her life. It all fades away when she meets Louis.</p>
            </blockquote>





	she says i smell like safety and home

Harry has always loved train rides, ever since she was a little girl. All of her fondest memories take place in some kind of train, actually. She suspects it has something to do with how calm she feels whenever she looks out the window and sees houses, trees and lives passing by her in a blur with such simplicity. Or maybe it's because of the gentle murmur the train engines produce, so unlike the annoying sound of wheels against the pavement that comes with travelling by car or bus. Whatever the reason is, she loves it. A train ride to her is equal to a massage to someone else. She relaxes to the point she has almost missed her stop more than once due to falling asleep. (She always wakes up when she's reached her destination - she considers herself lucky.)

But that's not happening today. Her shoulders are tense and her eyebrows are in a deep frown as she taps something on her phone, unaware of the hair falling out of her bun. She takes the device to her ear and closes her eyes while she waits for someone to pick up. Not an entire minute passes before she opens them again and lets her hand fall down to her lap, letting out an exasperated sigh. It wasn't meant to be loud, but in the quietness of her surroundings it's loud enough to catch the attention of another girl in the aisle in front of her.

The girl looks up from her phone, where Harry can see an on-going game of Angry Birds, and stares at her. Harry forces a smile into her lips before angling her body away from her and towards the window, signalling she's not in the mood to interact with strangers. She throws her head back against her seat and takes deep breaths, trying to calm down the storm that's going on inside her brain. She's so focused in that task, that she doesn't register the girl switching seats until she feels a tap on her knee. Startled, she jumps.

"Sorry for scaring you, just wanted to make sure you were alright," she says in a ringing voice, slowly taking her hand off Harry's knee. Her smile is warm and welcoming.

Harry really doesn't feel like talking, but she also doesn't have the energy to be rude (not that she would, anyway), so she stays quiet. She decides to inspect her appearance to occupy her mind with something other than her thoughts. The stranger has a short haircut, she notices. She also has a fringe that goes across her forehead. It gives a nice balance to her well-structured face and sharp cheekbones, and Harry doesn't know her at all, but she can't picture her with another haircut; it suits her. Her blue eyes seem to sparkle with something similar to amusement, and Harry realizes she hasn't replied yet.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks for, you know, worrying," Harry mutters, avoiding her eyes.

"It's no problem, really. I'm Louis, by the way, nice to meet you." Louis stretches her hand in a silly demeanour, waiting for Harry to shake it.

"I'm Harry," she slightly smiles as she takes Louis' petite hand on her own, feeling her previous worries slowly disappearing from her mind.

Their eyes make contact for a millisecond and peace finally manages to settle in Harry's system. Maybe it's because it's nearly midnight and Harry is starting to get sleepy, or maybe it's just her imagination, but something warm starts to fill her chest. The moment is gone seconds later when they both shyly look away, but the feeling persists, and Harry looks back at Louis with newfound wonder.

Harry is stuck appreciating the way Louis’ eyes shine under the dim light of the train when she hears her chuckle. She switches her attention to her whole face and tilts her head to the side in confusion.

“What? Did you say something?” Harry can’t stop her lips from smiling when she sees Louis’ eyes crinkle with amusement.

“Yeah, I did, actually. I asked if you were sure you were alright. Which apparently you aren’t, judging by your little trance,” she says jokingly. After Harry smiles back, Louis face becomes serious again. “No, but really - are you okay? I’m sorry if I’m noisy and annoying, but-”

“No, no, it’s fine,” Harry cuts her off. She looks at her lap, pondering what to say next. She could easily lie to her and talk about something else or fall asleep, but the thing is, she’s tired of lying and pretending everything is okay when it’s clearly not. Plus, Louis is staring at her with such sweetness, and she looks genuinely concerned; it’s almost impossible to lie. “I’ve just had a rough couple of days.”

“What happened?” Her thin eyebrows are furrowed. Harry sighs before answering.

“Well, for starters, I’m currently homeless and on my way to a city I’ve never been to before because I make awful, terrible decisions when I’m upset. And I barely have any money. And the only person I know that lives here isn’t answering the phone, so I have nowhere to crash either. I don’t have a lot of money and I have no plans at all.”

Louis eyebrows are lifted so high that Harry can barely see them, as they’re covered by her fringe. Her expression is a mix of worry and surprise.

“Wow, that’s… that’s tough. Do you want to talk about it? I’m a pretty good listener,” Louis smirks, but Harry can still see a hint of concern in her eyes. 

“Right now I just want to stop thinking about it for a while.” Harry offers her the sweetest smile she can muster. “Thank you, though. You seem like a really nice person, Louis.”

Louis blushes and looks down, acting shy all of a sudden. Her eyelashes cast a lovely shadow on her cheeks, and Harry has to force herself to stop staring fondly at her. Louis only entered her life a couple of minutes ago, but there’s something inherently endearing about her. Maybe it’s the way her thin lips curl into a sly smile, or the way her eyes twinkle when she smiles. Harry doesn’t know, and isn’t really sure if there’s a specific answer, even. Louis’ whole being is lovable.

 Or perhaps, Harry is just really, really sleep deprived. She clears her throat.

“So, what’s your story then?” She says, a hint of playfulness in her voice. “What’s the reason you’re here, on a train, at midnight?”

“Easy. I like travelling, and I’ve found that trains are the best place to meet cute girls.” Louis sends her a cheeky wink, and Harry feels her smile widen, dimples forming in her rosy cheeks. Louis looks at her for a moment before sobering up a little, the smirk never leaving her lips. “I’m actually working. I’m a vlogger,” she explains.

Harry raises her eyebrows in interest. Out of all the possible things that could’ve lead Louis to be there, being a vlogger never crossed Harry’s mind.

“Really? So you make videos about… what? Travelling at night?”

“No, no. I mean, yes, sometimes.” Louis chuckles at Harry’s confusion. “I normally just talk about random things that have happened to me, anecdotes and stuff like that. But it’s been getting a bit old, so now I’m travelling anywhere I feel like visiting and recording my day."

Harry moves an inch closer to Louis, ready to ask her more questions about her “job”, when the train brusquely stops, a loud screeching noise cutting through the air. Louis seems to lose her balance for a second, so Harry extends her hand and holds her upper arm to steady her. Confusion is all over Louis’ and Harry’s face, as well as in the other passengers’, who were startled out of their sleep.

Something comes out of the compartment speakers, making people start shushing each other.

“… _has been stopped due to technical malfunctions. It’d be irresponsible and unsafe for us to continue our route, so we have stopped at the nearest station. Again, we apologise in behalf of the company."_

The person keeps talking, but his voice is overshadowed by the indignant voice of the passengers. Harry and Louis just keep staring at each other; Harry is trying to come up with a plan, and she's certain Louis is doing the same. 

After a few seconds of thinking, Harry lets out a resigned sigh. She'll come up with something, it's not like she has anywhere to be. The rest of the people in the train compartment are already getting off the train, but Harry stays slumped on her seat. Louis, however, stands up, stretching and collecting her bags. Harry looks at her in confusion, so Louis gives her a tired smile, and extends her hand towards her. 

"Come on, join me."  Harry just looks at Louis, but ends up taking her hand nevertheless.

Their hands are connected for a few seconds before Harry lets go to pick up her backpack, but the tingling sensation stays.

"Where are we going?" Harry asks as soon as they get off the train and start walking through the station. 

Louis looks up at the sky for a second before looking back at Harry with a small smile.

"Let's find out."

 

**Author's Note:**

> I am aware that this is embarrassingly short, but I honestly have no idea how to continue this and I thought that if I published it, I would feel pressured and come up with something. So yeah, if you have any ideas let me know, i'm begging you. you can send me an ask on [tumblr](http://smolbirds.tumblr.com/) or comment, thanks for reading!!


End file.
